This work is a setting of Ben Jonson's glorious poem, which was also a a favourite of Britten - he set is in his Serenade for tenor , horn and strings. I have been a great fan of Jonson since reading his comedies in my teens. This work is dedicated to the memory of my dear old friend James Whitehorn, who died tragically in 2006 at the age of 41 but whose spirit and outlook on life was similarly Jonsonian. So the work is a tribute to him also.

In Dead Hours of Night, Op.39

Composed

2010

Duration (approx)

13 minutes

Text Author(s)

Three Portuguese poems translated fom the original by Lord Gowrie.

Publisher

Unpublished

Commission

Commissioned by Llanfylin Festival with kind acknowledgement from the Gulbenkian Foundation.